On a third-down play in the red zone with under two minutes remaining in the game, Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry was called for a holding penalty that gave the Kansas City Chiefs a fresh set of downs and sealed the game.

That call was technically the correct call, but it was an incredibly disappointing call and one that almost certainly should not have been made.

When the yellow flag was thrown, everyone knew the Chiefs had officially won the game. It was a sour and extremely unfortunate way to end a game that otherwise was one of the best Super Bowl games in recent history.

It was the right call, even Bradberry himself admitted that.

“I pulled on his jersey. They called it. I was hoping they would let it ride,” he said after the game.

Other Eagles’ players are also not one to blame the refs, as Jason Kelce said that their job is hard and he will never blame a referee for a call like that.

“They called it, and that’s the way this goes. I’ve said this before, I’m never going to be somebody who puts blame or anything on officials. That’s a hard job. They make a call. It is what it is,” Kelce said.

Shannon Sharpe, co-host of Undisputed and a former NFL player in his own right, also said that calling the penalty was the right move, Super Bowl or not.

“Just because it’s the Super Bowl doesn’t mean you don’t make that call,” Sharpe said.

Either way, the holding seemingly did not make a difference in receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster’s route. The ball was overthrown and slight jersey tug or not, he was not catching that ball. To effectively end a Super Bowl with that call will always leave a stain on an otherwise fantastic game.

Immediately after the game, reactions from fans were pretty extreme, from disappointment to anger, fan reactions were on full display on social media. Twitter specifically had the word “rigged” trending based on the call.

With how much the theory of the NFL being rigged has gained traction recently, a call like this does no favors for the league in dispelling those rumors.

At the end of the day, the fact is, that one call did not lose the Super Bowl for the Eagles. Football is a 60-minute game where the Eagles had several opportunities to take big leads and maintain momentum. Besides, the call was not even incorrect.

Before blaming the refs for making a seemingly bad call, recognition that it did not certainly change the outcome of the game is more than necessary.

Hopefully, in a decade or so, this Super Bowl will be remembered as it should be, a battle between the two best teams in the league in the 2022 season, playing a fantastic back-and-forth game for the Championship.

But, that will not be the case. The game will be remembered for the call at the end of the game, that depending on how you look at it, should not have been called and potentially cost the Eagles a chance to win the game.